Various embodiments related to electronic devices are set forth herein. According to an embodiment, an electronic device comprises a coil, a power transmitting circuit electrically connected with the coil, a sensing circuit, and a control circuit. The control circuit is configured to wirelessly output, using the power transmitting circuit, a first designated power through the coil to an external electronic device, and identify, using the sensing circuit, first energy detected at the coil due to a foreign object of the electronic device. The control circuit is further configured to, when a magnitude of the energy falls within a first designated range, output, using the power transmitting circuit, a second designated power to the external electronic device, and when the magnitude of the energy falls within a second designated range, abstain from outputting the power to the external electronic device using the power transmitting circuit. Other embodiments are possible as well.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An electronic device, comprising: a coil; a power transmitting circuit electrically connected with the coil; a sensing circuit; and a control circuit, wherein the control circuit is configured to: wirelessly output, using the power transmitting circuit, a first designated power through the coil, identify, using the sensing circuit, first energy from the first designated power detected at the coil due to a foreign object of the electronic device, when a magnitude of the first energy falls within a first designated range, output, using the power transmitting circuit, a second designated power through the coil, and when the magnitude of the first energy falls within a second designated range, abstain from outputting any power using the power transmitting circuit.
2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to output a third designated power through the coil using the power transmitting circuit before outputting the first designated power.
3. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the control circuit is configured to output the third designated power a same magnitude as a magnitude of the first designated power.
4. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the control circuit is configured to identify second energy from the third designated power detected at the coil using the sensing circuit.
5. The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein: the foreign object includes a metallic material, and when at least one of the magnitude of the first energy or a magnitude of the second energy falls within a third designated range in which a maximum value is smaller than a minimum value of the first designated range, the control circuit is configured to output the second designated power while maintaining a first detection threshold related to detecting the metallic material.
6. The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein: the foreign object includes a metallic material, and the control circuit is configured to, when the magnitude of the first energy and a magnitude of the second energy fall within the first designated range: adjust a first detection threshold related to detecting the metallic material to a second detection threshold smaller than the first detection threshold, and output the second designated power according to the second detection threshold.
7. The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein when the magnitude of the first energy and a magnitude of the second energy fall within the second designated range, the control circuit is configured to stop outputting any power.
8. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to: wirelessly output, using the power transmitting circuit, a first designated power and a second designated power through the coil, identify, using the sensing circuit, a state of the first designated power and a state of the second designated power detected at the coil or the power transmitting circuit due to a foreign object, detect the foreign object positioned adjacent to the electronic device based on the identified state of the first designated power and the identified state of the second designated power, and adjust the first designated power and the second designated power output through the coil based on at least the detection of the foreign object.
9. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the control circuit is configured to: output the first designated power in a first mode for performing communication for authenticating an external electronic device, and output the second designated power in a second mode for providing the second designated power to the external electronic device.
10. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein: the foreign object includes a metallic material, and when at least one of the identified state of the first designated power or the identified state of the second designated power falls within a third designated range in which a maximum value is smaller than a minimum value of a first designated range, the control circuit is configured to detect the foreign object based on a first detection threshold related to detecting the metallic material.
11. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein: the foreign object includes a metallic material, and when at least one of an identified magnitude of the first designated power or an identified magnitude of the second designated power falls within a first designated range, the control circuit is configured to: adjust a first detection threshold related to detecting the metallic material to a second detection threshold smaller than the first detection threshold, and detect the foreign object based on the second detection threshold.
12. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein when at least one of an identified magnitude of first power or an identified magnitude of second power falls within a second designated range in which a minimum value is larger than a maximum value of a first designated range, the control circuit is configured to stop outputting any power to the external electronic device.
13. A method for controlling wireless transmit power by detecting a foreign object by an electronic device, the method comprising: wirelessly outputting a power, using a power transmitting circuit, the power including a first designated power through a coil in a first mode for performing communication for authenticating an external electronic device and a second designated power through the coil in a second mode for charging the external electronic device; identifying, using a sensing circuit, a variation in a magnitude of the first designated power and a variation in a magnitude of the second designated power detected at the coil or the power transmitting circuit due to the foreign object; detecting the foreign object positioned adjacent to the electronic device based on at least one of the identified variation in the magnitude of the first designated power or the identified variation in the magnitude of the second designated power; and adjusting power output through the coil based on at least the detection of the foreign object.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the foreign object includes a metallic material, and wherein detecting the foreign object includes: when at least one of an identified magnitude of the first designated power or an identified magnitude of the second designated power falls within a third designated range in which a maximum value is smaller than a minimum value of a first designated range, detecting the foreign object positioned adjacent the electronic device based on a first detection threshold related to detecting the metallic material, and when at least one of the identified magnitude of the first designated power or the identified magnitude of the second designated power falls within the first designated range, adjusting the first detection threshold to a second detection threshold smaller than the first detection threshold, and detecting the foreign object positioned adjacent the electronic device based on the second detection threshold.
15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising, when at least one of the identified magnitude of the first designated power or the identified magnitude of the second designated power falls within a second designated range in which the minimum value is larger than the maximum value of the first designated range, stopping output of any power.
16. An electronic device, comprising: a coil; a power transmitting circuit electrically connected with the coil; a sensing circuit; and a control circuit, wherein the control circuit is configured to: output, using the power transmitting circuit, a signal to wirelessly provide power through the coil, identify, using the sensing circuit, power detected at the coil while outputting the signal, determine a detection threshold for detecting a foreign object based on a magnitude of the detected power, and stop providing the power upon detecting the foreign object based on the determined detection threshold when wirelessly providing the power through the coil.
17. The electronic device of claim 16 , wherein when a difference in magnitude between the power of the signal provided to an external electronic device and a power received by the external electronic device exceeds the determined detection threshold, the control circuit is configured to determine that the foreign object is detected.
18. The electronic device of claim 16 , wherein the power includes at least one of a first power identified in a first mode for performing communication for authenticating an external electronic device which is a target for wireless charging or a second power identified in a second mode for providing the power to the external electronic device.
19. The electronic device of claim 16 , wherein the control circuit is configured to: when a magnitude of the identified power falls within a first designated power range, determine that a threshold for detecting the foreign object is a first detection threshold, when the magnitude of the identified power falls within a second designated power range in which a minimum value is larger than a maximum value of the first designated power range, determine that the threshold for detecting the foreign object is a second detection threshold larger than the first detection threshold, and when the magnitude of the identified power falls within a third designated power range in which the minimum value is larger than the maximum value of the second designated power range, stop providing the power.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
February 22, 2019
June 2, 2020
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.